MIAMI — Though Spurs coach Gregg Popovich can't yet name the time or the place, Tim Duncan could be due for a day off soon.

Tuesday's 120-98 loss at Miami kicked off a stretch in which the Spurs play 16 of 21 on the road. Buried in that span are six sets of back-to-backs, a prominent red flag in Popovich's attempts to keep his 35-year-old All-Star power forward fresh.

It might not happen tonight at Orlando, but Popovich all but guarantees Duncan has a DNP in his near future.

“That stretch we have, with all the away games, something's got to give in there,” Popovich said. “He can't play every one of those games. There's just no way.”

Last season, Popovich sought to limit Duncan's minutes, but not necessarily his games played. Duncan played in the season's first 68 games — his first night off was March 19 against Charlotte.

With the post-lockout schedule looking like a marathon crammed into the space of a sprint, Popovich plans to sit Duncan for more games.

So far, Duncan has played in all 14 games, averaging a career-low 26:18 minutes per contest.

“If you don't sit, there's so many games so quickly, the minutes can pile up on you,” Popovich said. “The only way to really catch up is probably sitting now and then.”

Duncan, however, says he still feels fresh enough to play every night. Popovich says he will consult Duncan on the matter but reserves veto power on a final decision to play him or not.

Bad-luck charm: In the past month, reserve guard Gary Neal has had an appendectomy, a medicine cabinet-induced gash in his head that required four staples to close and a bruised thigh.

Finally, it appears his luck is improving — off the court, at least.

Neal said he narrowly avoided a serious car accident en route to the San Antonio airport Monday, when a truck ran a stop sign. Neal swerved onto the shoulder of Wetmore Road to avoid a collision.

“That could have been serious,” Neal said. “I would have been out for a while.”